


All The I Love You's

by merceralexs



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst/Fluff, Flashbacks, Hurt/Angst/Comfort, M/M, Modern Day, and the 90s, i don't know how to tag things, juke, just willie n alex chillin, lukereggie - Freeform, post caleb nonsense, prompts for tumblr, these are one shots, they're all just my children n i wanna protect them alright? alright, they're just cute boyfriends okay, willex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28663995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merceralexs/pseuds/merceralexs
Summary: a collection of prompts curated from my tumblr account. mostly willex/juke focused, but there's some other ships thrown in there too!i promise, they're fun. i'm just terrible at summaries.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 71





	1. Suck at Goodbyes

**Author's Note:**

> prompt fill on tumblr: "why are you smiling?"  
> alex and willie spend some time together reflecting on the past few weeks. alex really doesn't want to say goodbye again, even if it's just for a week.

“I suck at goodbyes,” Alex says, their fingers laced together, his head against Willie’s chest. 

“It’s not like it’s forever,” Willie replies, combing his fingers through Alex’s hair with his free hand. “It’s literally a week, maybe less. It’s just a skate camp. Super chill, a bunch of lifers and ghosts mingling and doing what we love most. And you can always come visit.” Alex looks up at him, forcing Willie’s fingers to stop. “You  _ can _ , Alex. Things are different now, we’re free of him.” 

Ever since Willie fully came back, free of Caleb’s reign, Alex had a hard time letting him out of his sight. He wasn’t overwhelming, per say, but the thought of Caleb coming back to terrorize them still gave him nightmares. 

“Yeah,” Alex scoffs, “that’s what I thought last time.” He sits up and runs his own fingers through his hair now, letting go of Willie’s hand. “I just - we don’t know quite where he is, or what he’s still capable of. I won’t be there to help if something were to happen again.” Alex picks at his hangnail. 

“We know for almost certain that he’s not coming back.”

“ _ Almost certain, _ ” Alex emphasizes. “There’s no guarantee.” 

“You’re  _ afraid _ of saying goodbye. Because you think I won’t come back. But I came back last time, right?” Willie questions, a smirk playing on his lips. Alex’s eyes shoot up to him. The crinkles at the corners of his eyes are infectious, because even though Alex is upset, he can’t stay that way forever. Not when Willie looks at him like he hung the stars. 

“I almost lost you, last time. Remember?” Alex asks with a huff. “You w-were flickering, Willie. And I didn’t even get a chance to say everything that I wanted to say. I thought I was going to lose you all over again and it was like the first time we said goodbye. This tightness in my chest, albeit the second time was ten fold.” 

There’s a tense silence that lingers in the air, neither one of them quite sure what to say next. 

_ “Alex,” Luke said, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. “I don’t think -” _

_ “I can’t give up on him, Luke,” Alex cried, holding Willie’s hand tightly. “He never gave up on me, on us. I can’t let him go.”  _

_ Reggie watched from the couch, knees hugged to his chest and tears falling down his cheeks. Even if they could, as much as they wanted to, they couldn’t do anything. It killed Reggie to know that he couldn’t help, sitting useless on the couch while he watches Alex hold onto Willie as he fades into oblivion.  _

_ “Don’t leave me, please,” Alex said, a sob bubbling in his throat. “You know how hard it was to do this the first time?” Luke took a step back. “I said I was okay but I wasn’t okay. I thought we could fix this, I thought I could fix this, tell me how to fix this.”  _

_ “I don’t know,” Wille told him, his voice hoarse. They’re slouched against the leg of the piano, Willie sitting beside Alex with his head on his shoulder.  _

_ “What about Caleb? What if I tell Caleb to take me instead?” He turned to fully face Willie, letting go of his hand. “I c-can’t lose you again.” Willie shook his head.  _

_ “I can’t let you do that, hot dog.” Willie grabbed his hand. The tears fall off his nose and onto their laced fingers. There’s a sudden jolt and it’s harder than they’ve been before, flickering twice before stopping. Alex just squeezed his hand tighter. “You deserve to live your life here, with the guys and with Flynn and Julie. They’re all this family you’ve come to know and love, I can’t let you give that up for me.” Willie reached up to brush the tears off Alex’s face. “I’ll always be looking over you, okay?” Alex leaned in to Willie’s touch.  _

**“Why are you smiling?”** Alex asks, a dubious look on his face. “That’s great, I’m crying and you’re sitting here laughing.” 

“I’m not laughing,” Willie says, reaching forward and grabbing Alex by the shoulder. He pulls him back into his lap, Alex settled between his legs as Willie puts both of his hands on top of Alex’s, lacing them together. He rests his chin on the top of Alex’s head. “I’m _smiling_ because I’m just thinking about how your kiss saved me. I never really thought of that whole _true love’s kiss_ thing, never really believed it could work.” 

Alex feels a blush creep up his skin, his ears feeling hot as Willie kisses the side of his head. “I-I wouldn’t say that - I - you know I just, strong feelings would be -a-a better way to put it.” Willie chuckles, turning Alex’s one palm over and tracing circles with his thumb. “No, really I-” 

“Hey, Alex?” Alex turns and tilts his head to look up at Willie. “It wouldn’t have worked if the feeling wasn’t mutual.” Alex bites the inside of his lip, feeling his hands get clammy. “Did I break you?” Willie asks after a long moment of silence. Alex adjusts so that he’s facing Willie and cups his face in his hands, bringing him closer to slot their lips together. 

Willie isn’t taken by surprise, but it’s definitely something they’re not quite familiar with. He threads his fingers together at the base of Alex’s neck and begins to find a rhythm. It doesn’t last long, but it gets the point across. Alex pulls away and rests his forehead against Willie’s. 

“So I can really come visit?” he asks after a moment. Willie cracks a smile, pecking him on the lips and sitting back. 

“Only if you promise to actually let me take care of you if you hurt yourself,” he smirks. Alex rolls his eyes and smiles. 

“I only fell once!” Willie raises an eyebrow. “Okay maybe twi- okay more than twice but less than ten!” 

“Whatever you say, hot dog.” 

  
  
  



	2. Coherency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there were two distinct times when alex couldn't form a coherent thought around willie. one, was when he near broke his neck upon their first meeting. and two, was when he found willie wearing his clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's another willex one for you all! they're my favorite, so i'll admit i'm a bit bias. this was probably a request somewhere along the line, or maybe i was talking about it in the group chat. i think i might've saw some fan art. anyway, enjoy these cute disaster gays sharing clothes.

There were two distinct times Alex couldn’t form a coherent thought around Willie. To be honest, Willie occupied ninety percent of his brain most of the time, the other ten percent being filled with new song ideas and how he really just loves making bracelets with Julie and Flynn. 

Alex could remember the day clearly, reminiscing on Willie almost breaking his neck when he tumbled over him. He wasn’t prepared for that kind of shock and then he saw Willie’s eyes and about lost it. Alex couldn’t pinpoint a reason why he’d taken his breath away but if he had to name a few it would be: eyes, hair, the crinkles by his eyes when he started laughing, and the sound of his voice. Willie had made some off-handed comment about how skating in traffic was bad but it all seemed to have a faint buzzing around it. 

He was convinced he was broken. 

The second time was when he walked into the studio and saw Willie sitting on the couch, legs tucked under him, wearing his sweatshirt. His pink, signature, Champion sweatshirt. He didn’t think a man could get more beautiful. 

Willie’s head is resting on the back of the couch, eyes closed as he absently plays with the stitching on the couch. “Hey stranger,” he hums as his eyes flutter open. 

“H-hey,” Alex stutters after a long moment. Willie sits up and smirks at him. “Where’d ya get that?” he asks, gesturing to the sweatshirt. Willie looks down and pulls it gently away from him rubbing the fabric with his thumb and forefinger. 

“Oh, sorry. I was waiting for you and saw it was on the back of the couch. It smelled like you and-“ he scratches the back of his neck, “I missed you.” 

Alex juts his bottom lip out and furrows his eyebrows in a look of adoration. “That’s… that’s really sweet.” Alex pulls up a stool to sit in front of Willie and takes his hand. “I missed you too.” 

Willie smiles, leaning forward to give him a soft kiss. Alex puts his hand on the back of his neck, pulling him closer to savor the feeling. When they break apart, Alex looks down with a blush on his cheeks. 

“You’re cute when you’re flustered, you know that?” Willie tugs at Alex, who takes the hint and sits beside him. Willie adjusts and extends his legs over Alex’s lap, Alex’s hands finding a comfortable position on his legs. “When are the guys and Julie going to be here?”

“Not for another half an hour. You wanna watch us rehearse?” Willie chuckles. “Okay, obvious answer to that question.” 

“I was going to go skating for a while but I thought I’d stop by here first. Figured we could talk?” 

“Come here. Let me fix that.” Alex leans closer to him and pulls up his hood, pulling the strings so that it tightens around his face. Willie laughs and grabs Alex’s face, squishing his cheeks. “Talk about what?” 

Willie tugs at the hoodie and loosens the strings, kisssing Alex again. “That?” 

“I thought we were having fun together, why do we have to talk about it?” Alex asks. “Isn’t this enough?” Willie’s heart sinks as he shakes his head. 

“No, no this is enough, Alex. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page. Do we want to label it, do we not? Are we exclusive?”

“I mean we’re ghosts, Willie. I don’t think it has to be a big thing you know? I just know I want to be with you.” Willie nods. “Where’s this coming from?” 

“I don’t know, maybe I got a little jealous seeing the way you are with Luke.. knowing you two have a history..” 

“You’re jealous?” Alex asks, quirking an eyebrow and chuckling a little bit. He takes Willies hands and wraps them around his neck. He strokes his thumbs over Willie’s wrists and smiles. “You have absolutely nothing to be jealous about. Luke and I dated for a little bit yeah, but we were both discovering, it was easy and at the end it was better being friends. We cared about that way more than being boyfriends.” Willie’s quiet for a moment. “Willie.”

“Sorry,” he says softly. Alex puts his hands over his and leans forward to kiss him again. “I know I shouldn’t be jealous.” 

“But if you do obviously we should talk about it. I like you, Willie. Only you. And I know that sometimes Luke and I maybe push the boundaries a little bit but I promise you it means nothing.” 

“People fall back into old patterns.” Willie states it as a matter of fact, moving to put his feet on the ground, his hands in his lap. “You don’t know that you won’t with him.” 

Alex is silent for a long time, thinking hard about what he was going to say next. “Does me being friends with Luke make you feel threatened?” The words come out so quickly he kicks himself that he can’t take them back. All that thought and still the wrong thing. He doesn’t know how to do this. Willie’s eyes snap to his. 

“Threatened? No. Maybe? I don’t know. It’s like… I mean, I know he likes Julie a lot but you guys were each other’s first and only boyfriends, that’s… that’s a lot of pressure.” Willie’s arms are folded over his chest, his thumb rubbing a soothing pattern into his opposite arm. 

“Hey,” Alex says, putting his hand over his to stop the motion. "I’m here, I’m with you.” Willie meets his eyes and nods. 

“The history I have with Luke is exactly that.  _ History _ . You are who I want to spend the time with, you’re who I want to tell my good days and bad days to,  _ you _ . Not Luke, not anybody else. You. And it sucks that I’ve made you feel-“

“No this is… this is just my own anxiety. I never told you about the few boyfriends I had when I was alive. Didnt really think it’d matter - we never ended on the best terms and my last serious one ended up cheating on me. So my brain can’t help but spiral when you tell me stuff like the fact that you and Luke had history. Sometimes I see you guys hold hands on stage or-“

“I’m so sorry that you went through that,” he interrupts, putting a hand on his knee. 

“It’s really just a me thing,” Willie says softly. Alex cups his face and gives him a light kiss. “Sometimes I just wonder if I’m good enough.” 

“You are, Willie. More than you know,” Alex tells him, not letting go of his face. “When stuff like this comes up though can we make a deal to talk to each other? I don’t want this to build up or for either of us to feel insecure. I care about you so much.” A tear rolls down Willie’s cheek and Alex swipes it away with his thumb, resting his forehead against his. “You can’t get rid of me.” 

“I know it sounds stupid given everything-“

“Nothing you ever say is stupid.” Willie smiles. “Sorry I keep interrupting.” 

“It’s cute. I was just going to say you’re the first person in a long time that’s made me feel alive again.” Alex sits back, a hand on his chest. “Alex,” Willie blushes. 

“If my heart could stop beating it probably would.” Alex moves closer to Willie, pushing his weight forward so that Willie’s laying back against the arm rest of the couch. Willie’s eyes are beaming with happy. “Aside from Julie, you’re the best thing that’s happened to me since I became a ghost.” Willie feigns the same reaction Alex had, to which Alex shakes his head. “Okay okay, so we’re both really corny.” Willie gives him a kiss. 

“You know you can borrow my hoodie anytime, right?” Willie asks, playing with the lapels of Alex’s denim jacket. Alex nods before disappearing. Willie sits up. “You don’t even know-“

“The roof of the Orpheum,” Alex says as he appears back beside him. “In our spot.” 

“That was a  _ really _ lucky guess.” Willie laughs and grabs the front of his hoodie, pulling him in so that their lips are just barely touching. “You should wear my clothes more often.” The look of pure joy on Alex’s face takes Willie’s breath away. He was usually pretty well put together for the most part. But when it came to Alex he felt more like a puddle of warmth, love, and adoration. 

“Only if you wear mine,” Alex challenges. Their lips brush and Alex playfully pulls back. “Deal, yeah?”

Willie leans forward to give him a kiss.

“Deal.” 


	3. Bracelet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alex loses julie's friendship bracelet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one feeds into my soul that is made up partly of julie and alex being best friends. i love this, i love them. and liv inspired the prompt.

The three of them are watching the tall blonde pace the floor. They all exchange glances but refrain from saying much, as not to freak Alex out more. Willie looks to Luke and mouths ‘do you know what’s going on?’ to which Luke shrugs. 

“Hey Alex?” Reggie finally pipes up after a moment. Alex stops in the middle of the floor, hand on the back of his neck and gives Reggie a waiting look. “I-I think you might be spiraling. I’m sure Julie would understand.” Alex takes a deep breath as Willie and Luke both look at Reggie. “He’s missing his bracelet.” And then it clicks. 

Alex never went anywhere without Julie’s rainbow bracelet she’d made for him. He was able to fidget with it before a show if he was anxious, or twirl it around his wrist when he was bored. The constant reminder of Julie being one of the best things in his life, gone. “Y-yeah maybe. We both just know how important that bracelet is.” 

_Alex is sitting up in the loft, Luke and Reggie respectfully giving him some space after he said goodbye to Willie. The past twenty four hours had been a whirlwind of emotions and once the dust had settled, so did his heartbreak. It was hard, and he didn’t think it would be but it was. He felt like he was suffocating and he didn’t know where to turn. His legs dangle over the edge as he drums with his fingers on his arm._

_“Alex?” he hears below him. He looks to the stairs to see Julie standing at the bottom. Her demeanor is soft as she gives him a small smile. Alex tilts his head to the side and gives her a polite smile. “The guys mentioned you wanted to be alone before they went to the arcade but um --” she swallows. “I thought I’d check on you.”_

_Alex nods, patting the spot beside him. She finishes her trek up the stairs and sits beside him, feet dangling off the edge.She nudges him gently with her shoulder. . “I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again, you know?”_

_Julie nods, allowing the two of them to sit in a comfortable silence. He starts drumming on his arm again and Julie takes his hand, threading her fingers with his. He looks at her and smiles. She rests her head on his shoulder. “I know what it’s like. Losing someone you care so much about,” she starts, absentmindedly fidgeting her fingers in his hand, soothing his thoughts. His heart goes out to her._

_“I know,” he says softly. “And I know that I don’t know whether or not Willie will be gone forever but-”_

_“No, it’s still valid. I’m sad I never met him.” Alex takes another breath and pulls his legs up, crossing one under another and turning to face Julie. “Just because I lost my mom doesn’t mean that your pain is any less valid.”_

_“Thanks, Julie.”_

_She smiles and moves to mirror him, reaching back out for his hand. She tugs on it and he knowingly holds it still, waiting for whatever was to come next. “I made you a bracelet. I saw that your old rainbow one was fraying and thought I would do something nice. I had too much free time recently,” she laughs. Alex chuckles in response, the tightening in his chest finally beginning to dissipate. She pulls the bracelet out of her pocket, tying it around his wrist. It’s simple and perfect and Alex feels overwhelmed with emotion. “It’s okay,” she says, watching him intently. “It’s okay to be sad about him.”_

_He hangs his head and presses the heels of his hands, trying to keep the tears from spilling. The only one who was good when Alex cried,_ **_really cried_ ** _, was Reggie. But he wasn’t here. He couldn’t help the burn of guilt in his stomach, not wanting to burden Julie. Not being able to hold back to tears anymore, they start to roll down his cheeks. He holds his head in his hands, sniffling and whispering to himself. “I’m so sorry, Julie.”_

_“You don’t ever have to say you’re sorry to me,” she says, and he can hear the quiver in her voice. She reaches forward and wraps her arms around him, her embrace warm and inviting. He buries his face in her neck and it feels awkward and natural all in the same instance. She tightens her embrace and allows him to cry._

“You-” Luke clears his throat. “You never told us that story, Alex.” 

Alex shrugs, sitting down on the armrest of the couch. Willie wraps an arm around his waist and fidgets with the hem of his jacket between his fingers. “It was just something I kept for me and Julie, you know?” He looks down at Willie. “She helped me a lot after you left.” Then his eyes are back up to Luke and Reggie. “Not that you guys didn’t, or that you couldn’t relate it’s just that Julie -”

“We get it,” Reggie says with a warm smile, “you have different relationships with all of us.” Alex nods and gives him a smile. 

“Thanks, Reg.” Luke rubs his palms on his jeans before standing up and clasping his hands together. “What?” 

“How can we help?” he asks, jutting his chin forward and raising an eyebrow. “I’m _sure_ Julie will be totally cool with it, but if we can help that’s what we’re going to do!” he exclaims. Alex chuckles, twirling Willie’s hair on his finger. 

“Julie will be totally cool with what?” Julie asks from the studio door. They all jump at her voice, Alex tumbling to the ground. Luke shakes his head and extends his hand. Alex takes a breath, grabbing his hand and helping himself up. “You look like you guys saw a... “ she giggles, “a ghost.” 

They all stare at her. 

“Oh come on! That was funny,” she laughs, tossing her bag down beside the couch, sitting down at the piano and facing the boys. “So what will I be totally cool about?” She waits, expectantly before Luke nudges Alex forward. Alex clears his throat and glares back at Luke. “You can tell me.” 

“Right. I um…” he looks back to the guys who are giving looks of assurance. “I lost your bracelet,” he says softly, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. She cocks her head to the side and grins at him. “W-what?” he nervously laughs, looking to the guys for assistance they don’t have to offer. 

“It’s okay you lost the bracelet Alex. I can make a new one,” she smiles. Standing up and grabbing his hands. “This is what’s been getting you all anxious?” 

“How did you-” 

“Your demeanor completely changes when you’re anxious or you feel like you’re going to have an attack.” He nods. “Really, I promise. Losing the bracelet is not the end of the world. How long since you lost it?” Alex shrugs. Julie shrugs back. “Okay. Then it’s lost, and that’s okay.” 

“I just knew how much it meant to you and to me and I didn’t want you to think I was being careless. I know it seems silly…” She nods, encouraging him to continue. “It just helped me through a lot, just kind of bummed I lost it.” Julie leans on her toes to wrap her arms around Alex. He’s startled at first, but then melts into the hug, resting his chin on her head. He takes another deep breath and closes his eyes. “Thank you.” 

“Of course,” she smiles, pulling away from him. “Really, it’s a pretty simple pattern to replicate. Obviously the first one is the _first_ one, but nothing that can’t be done again. Are you okay?” He looks back at the guys who have nothing but looks of adoration on their faces. Watching Alex and Julie interact was ethereal, they were both so empathetic and wholesome. She tugs gently on his hand. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, I am now,” he says, turning back to her. “I really am sorry I lost it though.” 

“You don’t ever have to say you’re sorry to me.” 


	4. Five Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> set in 1995.  
> luke & reggie are rehearsing when reggie reflects on the argument his parents had earlier that afternoon. luke talks him down during a panic attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: is something wrong?

1995\. 

“Reggie!” Luke exclaims, startling the brunette so bad he drops his bass. His heart is racing as he scrambles to pick it up, Luke meeting him in the middle of the garage with his forgotten pick. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he says, placing a hand on his wrist. “You’ve just been spacing out all day, **is something bothering you?”**

“Hm? Oh, oh no. Just…Ashlynn, she was being all dramatic with my mom again.” Reggie plucks at the strings on his bass as Luke flops down on the couch, noticing the way Reggie’s fingers strum a little quicker than normal. 

“You can talk to me about anything, you know that right?” 

Reggie looks up, feeling a lump in his throat. “Yeah -” his voice cracks, “yeah, yeah of course,” he says after he clears his throat. He puts his bass down and rubs his hands on his jeans. “I’ll be right back.” Then he’s rushing out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind him. He presses his back to the door and sinks to the floor, crossing his legs up against his body. 

“Reg?” he hears softly from the other side of the door. “We don’t even have to talk about what’s going on can you just-”

“Can you give me a minute, Luke? Please?” he snaps. He didn’t mean that, but his mind is racing and he can’t seem to control his breathing. _Where’s Alex_?, he thinks. It’s not that Luke’s bad with anxiety, or being there for him - hell he would bend over backwards and walk to the edge of the Earth on broken glass for strangers - but Alex… well Alex had been through this before with Reggie. 

“Reg,” Luke says, a little louder as he pushes on the door. It’s not full force, but it’s enough to wedge it open. “Let me help you, please?” Reggie looks up at Luke with red rimmed eyes, not realizing he’s been crying. “You guys leave the key above the door,” he says after a moment, closing the door behind him and sitting in front of Reggie. “Five things?” Reggie meets his eyes. “L-l-like the five senses.” Reggie always forgets about Luke’s stutter when he’s nervous or excited. 

“Uh, I can see you and the ugly green paint on the walls,” Reggie starts, both of them letting out a laugh. Luke nods, ushering him on as he gingerly takes his hands. “I can feel _that_ ,” he says, Luke’s thumb running in slow, comforting strokes across his palm. “I can hear… I-I can hear - um -” _The biggest regret of my life was marrying someone like you. All you care about is your money! **That's rich coming from you** _ **!**

“Reg?” Luke asks, pressing his thumb nail gently into his palm, if only to grab his attention. Reggie blinks and meets his gaze once more. “We don’t have to talk about what happened…” 

“I can taste my mint chapstick. I really should’ve gotten cherry, you know because it’s -”

“Your favorite. Yeah, I know,” he laughs. “What else?” 

“I don’t know,” Reggie says after a long pause. Luke moves to Reggie’s side and wraps an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in close. “Their last fight was really bad. I mean _really_ bad. It didn’t get physical,” he takes a deep breath, Luke’s hand still in his, “but it got loud. So loud Ashlynn started crying and we know Ash, she never cries, you know? Jared is with Laura tonight, so of course he wasn’t here - not that he has to be here to protect us but -”

“Reg,” Luke says, interrupting him, “you’re going to talk yourself back into a spiral.” 

Reggie clears his throat. “H-how did you know that stuff anyway? About the senses?” 

“My mom used to have panic attacks,” Luke says quietly. “When my dad was sick for a while, she used to talk herself into these spirals about how he was never going to come back and I…” Reggie can hear the quiver in his voice. “Yeah, so I got good at figuring these things out. Plus Alex…”

“I know,” Reggie says. “Seems like we all have our issues, huh?” Luke laughs and rests his head against Reggie’s. 

“Knock knock,” Alex’s voice came from behind the door. He pushes his way in and sits on the opposite side of Reggie, grabbing his free hand and playing with the ring on his finger. “Luke called me,” he says. Reggie glances back at Luke and gives him a small smile, squeezing his hand. Reggie leans closer to Luke, chewing on his bottom lip. 

“I love you,” he says, voice barely above a whisper. Luke pokes his tongue out to wet his lips and then gives a smile and a nod. He doesn’t have to say it for Reggie to know he feels the same. “You guys are seriously the best… I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

Alex laughs, “Ha! I have a feeling we’ll still be there for each other, even in the afterlife.” 

  
  



	5. You're Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> julie & luke sharing a moment while julie study's.

It’s a comfortable silence, the two share while sitting on Julie’s living room couch. She’s got her knees curled to her side as she scribbles down chemical properties in her notebook. Luke always admired that about her: how talented, driven, and focused she was. It sounded corny in his head so he never really thought much about saying it out loud. 

His feet were propped up on the stool in front of him as he sat and watched her. He wasn’t trying to be creepy, really, but he’d finished the song he was working on about ten minutes prior and couldn’t help but look at her. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail with her favorite army green scrunchie. He remembers when girls used to wear them all the time back in the 80s, but the fashion back then was much different than it is now. 

“Why are you staring at me?” she asks softly, not looking up from her book. His mouth flounders for a moment, startled by the fact that he’d been caught, before he gains enough composure to shut it. “You’re  _ really _ obvious, Luke.” 

“I didn’t think I was,” he said, scratching the back of his neck as he felt his skin burn. He shook the thoughts from his head and went to speak again, “I just… I finished working on this song and I just got distracted I guess. More spacing out than anything,” he tries to cover. 

“Right,” she says, finally looking up at him with a quirked eyebrow. She laughs and closes her notebook, setting it on the couch beside her and shifting to cross her legs. Allowing him to gain her full attention. “So if you were spacing off, what were you thinking about?” 

She’s awfully close; the tips of her monster slippers just barely grazing his leg. It’s a new exploration, he thinks, them being able to touch each other. It’s true that anyone aside from Julie still can’t see them, but he likes the idea of holding her hand and brushing her falling curls away from her face. He thinks way too often about hugging her again. She felt warm and safe, he truly felt  _ alive _ in her arms and he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling. 

“You think this is going to last forever?” he asks, shifting in his seat too, to face her head on. He bends one leg under the other and throws his arm up on the couch, playing with a few fraying pieces. “I mean us, the guys…” he looks at the space between them, “this.” 

“I hope it does,” she says, after a beat. “There’s no telling what’s going to happen, you know? It might last, it might not, but we can hold on to it for as long as we have, right?” He nods, biting his bottom lip but agreeing with the sentiment. He wants to stay like this forever. Even if no one ever physically saw him again, knowing that he was a part of Julie’s world would be enough. He absorbs her words, his gaze lingering on her before glancing at the frayed thread between his fingers. “H-how’s your AP Chemistry going?” 

“Good,” she laughs. “It’s a little stressful, but I seem to be getting the hang of things.” 

“Right right,” he says, nodding again. He can feel his palms are sweating. Sometimes it startles him what mannerism he still obtains, even as a ghost. He can feel her staring at him. “Why are you staring at me?” he mimics, glancing in her direction and poking his tongue out. She hangs her head and he can see the faint blush on her cheeks. He clears his throat before gently placing his hand under her chin and lifting her head to meet his eyes. “You can tell me.” 

“I think you’re beautiful.” He blinks, before she reaches up and grabs his hand, setting them in her lap. “I just.. I mean, like-” He blushes, knowing his face is probably as red as a tomato right about now. She shakes her head in embarrassment, but he doesn’t let her hand go. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, no,” he says, ushering her eyes back to his. “No, it’s really sweet,” he chuckles, his free hand tucking a few loose strands behind her ear. “You just caught me off guard.” 

“I think I caught myself off guard,” she laughs. They’re comfortable with each other, it doesn’t feel out of sorts being present with each other like this. “Do you ever look at someone, and maybe they’re doing something so simple or silly, but it makes your stomach knot? You feel like the world around you could collapse but,” she strokes her thumb over his calloused palms, “as long as you had them around, things might be okay?” 

If he had a heartbeat, he thinks it would’ve stopped by now. 

“Every time I look at you.” 

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! so i have accumulated so many prompts over at my tumblr, that i thought i would share them here! obviously i'll give a brief summary of each one as they go. but i figured this would be a nice space to collect all of them. i appreciate everyone who's helped and given me feedback on all of these! it means a lot.  
> [merceralexs](merceralexs.tumblr.com) on tumblr


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